Latest information

Every tournament

September 20 2012

5:20 PM

Watch: Rose's 52-foot putt

In the opening round of the 2012 TOUR Championship by
Coca-Cola, Justin Rose sinks a 52-foot birdie putt on the par-3
18th hole.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

ATLANTA -- A year ago, Justin Rose entered the TOUR Championship
by Coca-Cola ranked third in the FedExCup. He knew he could win the
$10 million bonus with a victory at East Lake but tied for 20th
instead as Bill Haas played the role of the spoiler.

This year, Rose finds himself in Haas' position. The Englishman
came into the week ranked 24th -- one spot higher than Haas was
when he claimed the dual victories -- and the pressure is off.

"From the FedExCup point of view, it's a position of having
nothing to lose, really," Rose explained. "Obviously, I'd like to
be much higher up the rankings and that's the scenario from last
year. Last year I didn't factor in the tournament, and this year
maybe being a little bit looser out there is going to help me.

"I think I've only got this tournament on my mind. A lot of the
other guys have two trophies on their minds. So I think I'll steal
it if I end up winning both of them. But it will be nice to
know."

Rose lent credence to those words, too, when he fired a 66 that
included a 52-foot birdie on the final hole.

Rose said East Lake places a premium on hitting fairways, and
with just seven in his Thursday stats he knows he can improve. He
likes the way his putter is responding, though, with 26 in the
first round, and he's looking forward to the rest of the week.

"I kind of looked at the leaderboards to gauge how the course
was playing and how the boys were doing out there, and obviously, I
realized it was time to be patient," Rose said. "No one was really
going low. 1 or 2 under is going to be a good score today, so I
always had that in the back of my mind."